Woohoo, it's HOT...

It's been some kind of hot here in Southern California and I'm loving it. This is definitely not John's kind of weather but we've made the best of it so far. Yesterday after church we hit the Hurley outlet sale down in Irvine where it was 97*. We got Luke the cutest pair of little man board shorts- pictures to follow. Hoping it would be cooler by the water, we went to Newport for a family lunch but it proved to be only a few degrees cooler. After a short nap, we headed out to the Ostermanns' Great Strides Rally Party. Despite the heat, there was a great turn out. They had make-your-own ice cream sundaes and a silent auction. The kids had a great time playing and I think the fundraising went well. That fundraising will continue this week at the Long Beach Towne Center Chick-fil-A this Thursday night where 20% of the proceeds from people presenting this flyer will go to Team Jonah. ***Don't forget to make your donation on my Great Strides page before May 31st. I'm praying the weather will be a little cooler when we get out there to walk for a cure. =)

After the rally party, the four of us went down to Naples for dinner and a duffy ride with the Irelands and Durnins. It was a nice evening with friends and Kate even got to drive.

Today, Kate and I had a "mommy & me" outing. We had such fun, just the girls. We grabbed some lunch to go from Panda Express and went to the 12 o'clock showing of "Horton Hears a Who". She was such a big girl sitting in her seat eating orange chicken and rice. This was only her second movie theater experience and she did great. We're definitely going to have to make these girls day out outings a more regular thing.

A better week...

The colds were going around in our house this week and after Luke broke out into a rash yesterday, I've diagnosed him with having had roseola. Now we're on the mend. Despite being sick, we had a much better week than last. No less busy than usual, but a good busy. The productive kind of busy that I like. Long gone are the days when I used to get my whole "things to do" list done in one day but I got pretty close to it this weekend when I got all of the bills paid, grocery shopping done, house cleaned, and laundry done. Why do I blog about this? First, because this is quite an accomplishment these days and second, because (those who know me well can vouch for this) I LOVE getting stuff done. =)
John worked a lot of overtime again this week but, being the good husband that he is, that did not stop him from taking care of things around the house. He had some serious pruning to do on the ground cover in the backyard so he broke out the weed-whacker. This chore resulted in the mess seen below. He was covered from head to toe- I couldn't resist taking a picture. But check out the nice manicured wall over his left shoulder.

We often see little lizards, who live in the ground cover above our yard, running around in the backyard and I think John's yard work may have confused one since we found him in our living room the other morning! I caught him in a tupperware and let the kids check him out. When I told Kate we had to take him outside to let him go she said, "No, Mommy! I love him. He's so cute!" After I explained that he would die if we didn't let him out of the tupperware she helped me release him.Luke's palette is getting better and better. His new favorite breakfast is a bagel with cream cheese. This results in a pretty good mess but he loves it.

P.S. I want to make sure to remind everyone that the Great Strides walk is just 6 weeks away. If you haven't already done so, check out my blog entry, Great Strides, for more information.

Sleepy boy...

I've often wondered about those mothers whose children fall asleep in odd places like the highchair, the exersaucer, etc. I've thought, "What's wrong with that mother? Doesn't she realize her child is tired and needs to take a nap in a crib or stroller or car seat? That poor baby." Then this happened today at the park...
Luke has been pretty congested all day and just not feeling great. I have found, though, that staying home "to rest" doesn't quite work with a 10-month-old the way it may work for an adult or older child. A 10-month-old does not lay quietly on the couch watching movies and drinking plenty of fluids. So instead of staying home battling a bored older sister, we headed to the park for a hour of playtime with Auntie Brenna and Brooklyn. Shortly after getting there Luke displayed signs of needing a nap but was having none of it because he wanted to watch the kids play. He loves the swings and always get quite relaxed on them so when he started to nod off I folded up a blanket and laid his little head down. Check out the video courtesy Auntie B...

***Note: turn up the volume to hear him hum himself to sleep. Bless his little heart.***

Family time...

We've spent some good, quality family time in the last couple of days. This was much needed and lots of fun. As most of you know and experienced for yourself, we had some nice HOT weather this weekend. On our way home from church on Sunday we made the last minute decision to drop in on Grammie and Pop Pop's house for lunch and a swim.

Lukey had a great time floating around.

***Note: That is not a bruise on his forehead, there is a spot on my lens.

Kate's ready to go in her hat, goggles, and life jacket. On Monday night John, Kate, and Luke got to meet Paige when we took dinner to the Irelands. I tried a new Chicken Parmigiana recipe from my Southern Living: Cooking Light cookbook. It was quite yummy and the girls had a great time playing together- as always.

Luke thought his new girlfriend was pretty cute. =)

After their bath, the girls decided they needed to add a little something to their evening ensembles so they broke out the rain boots and posed for the cameras.

Today, for our family day, we spent the day at Disneyland & California Adventure. It had been several months since John has joined us at the Magic Kingdom and Kate was thrilled to have him along. It was pretty crowded- I'm assuming spring breaks are still going on- and we had a couple low-blood-sugar-meltdowns but we had a good day.
The Playhouse Disney show was recently redone to include one of Kate's favorite shows, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She and Luke loved the new show which included a lot of dancing, fun new characters, and bubble, leaves, and streamers falling from the sky.
We headed home around 4 pm with both kids very worn out and schedules completely messed up. Now I sit here at 8 pm while Kate eats dinner, feeling a little flustered because Luke is still "napping" and seems to be down for the night unfed and dirty. Scratch that- he just woke up.

One of those weeks...

The past few days have been rough. Nothing disastrous, it's just been one of those weeks where I found taking care of two kids and the house to be more challenging then usual, although it could always be worse (anybody watch "Jon & Kate: plus 8"?). Then I read my friend Emily's latest blog entry and it inspired me to look for the positives in this week. So I've decided to take a page from her book and make a list of things, in no particular order, that I am grateful for:

#1. The funny things that come out of this one's mouth. While she can be absolutely infuriating at times, she so often cracks me up with the things she says and does.

#2. My kids are really starting to become good buddies. Kate is learning to be more gentle and Luke is toughening up. Yesterday they kept me entertained with a game of chase. The shrieking I could do without as it is ear-piercing, but they were having a great time together and I love that.

#3. Good friends and healthy deliveries. The newest member of our extended family of friends was born on Wednesday, April 9th...Paige Wallace Ireland. She and her mom are healthy and happy.

#4. Then there's this face. What more can I say? He is the reason I am completely sleep deprived but look at him. I can't stay mad for long. =)

#5. There is not a picture since I haven't seen much of him this week, but my dear husband is someone for whom I am extremely grateful. He works hard and puts in overtime so I can be home with Kate and Luke. And even when it's been "one of those days", there is no where else I'd rather be and I'm so blessed to have a supportive husband who feels the same way. Thanks, honey.

I don't think we're in Long Beach anymore...

We recently made the decision that we needed to make more of an effort to get out on John's days off and spend some fun family time together. We really want our kids to have memories of fun outings. I've recently discovered a blog called Daytripping Mom that has some great ideas for just the kind of outings we're looking for. Since I didn't plan ahead today, we decided to do something close by and spent about 1 1/2 hours at the El Dorado Park & Nature Center. The nature trails are 1/4, 1, or 2 miles of paved & unpaved paths through trees, meadows, streams and ponds. We had a great time. It was so peaceful and felt as though we'd stepped right into the woods in Arkansas. After living in Long Beach for over 28 years, I'm ashamed to say I didn't know we had these great "woodlands" right in our backyard.

We decided we'd go middle of the road and headed out on the 1 mile trail. Kate was a little apprehensive at first since Mommy said we might see animals. She kept asking if there were tigers in there. We assured her that the biggest animal we may encounter would be a bunny.

This one actually stood still enough for me to take a picture. Kate had a hard time picking it out at first since they blend so we'll with the surroundings.

Luke didn't last long. He cuddled right up to Daddy and slept through most of the walk. I'm sure one day in the not too distant future we'll be reminiscing about the days when we could have such peaceful walks. :)

Here's one sight you don't see out in nature. Nice lunch break spot, huh? ;)

While not many animals came out, there were some really cute sights like the mommy duck with all of her ducklings.

Some times you just need a break.

Kate finally got tired and needed a piggy back ride. She perked up when we got to the little museum where she saw a snake, spiders, and skeletons. Pretty cool.

We've got a list going of fun things to do and are going to try to pick something new each week. Today was a good start. As we were walking back to the car, Kate said, "That was a nice walk, Mommy. Thank you for taking me on a nice walk." Awww...melts your heart, doesn't it?